The Punjab Agriculture Department has issued an advisory for an effective control of whitefly in cotton crops, urging farmers to adopt timely preventive and management measures.
Agriculture Dept issues advisory for whitefly control in cotton crop
MULTAN, Jun 07 (APP): The Punjab Agriculture Department has issued an advisory for an effective control of whitefly in cotton crops, urging farmers to adopt timely preventive and management measures.
According to the advisory, farmers cultivating early cotton crops should conduct pest scouting at least twice a week. Removal of weeds around cotton fields has been made essential to reduce pest infestation.
Farmers have also been advised to regularly monitor alternative host crops such as brinjal, cucumber, pumpkin, tomato, chilli, okra, and mung bean to control whitefly spread on these plants as well.
The advisory further recommends ensuring proper irrigation to avoid water stress in cotton fields. For whitefly monitoring and control, farmers should install 15 to 20 yellow sticky traps per acre and replace the adhesive every 15 days.
The department emphasized that pesticide application should only be carried out after consultation with local agricultural experts of the Punjab Agriculture Department.
